A Huge American Donut Brand Is Returning To Britain

Dunkin Donuts
REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Roughly 20 years after its first failed attempt to make it in the UK, Dunkin' Donuts is having another go.

As reported by The Telegraph newspaper, Nigel Travis, the CEO of the Massachusetts-based company, was in London this weekend as part of the first stage of a world tour looking for expansion sites, everywhere from Spain to China to Australia.

Donuts are big in the US and are slowly gaining ground with Britons. Travis believes this time around, the company has learned from its past flop: "We failed the first time because we focused on central London where rents were just too high. This time we are starting out on the outskirts of London," he told The Telegraph.

This year, Dunkin Donuts opened five stores, including one North London's Harrow, which is apparently "doing very well."

WH Smith, one of the UK's biggest booksellers, has agreed to sell the donuts in five underground stations in London, including busy Paddington and Euston. Dunkin Donuts ultimately plans to open 144 shops across the UK, The Telegraph said.

"The trick to expansion for a new brand is airports, train stations and motorways - high footfall areas to give us brand presence," Travis told The Independent.

The donut shop is currently in talks with Spring Petroleum, a Yorkshire-based gas station, to sell donuts in 25 stores in the northeast of England.